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SANTA MARIA, CA – DECEMBER 3: Singer Michael Jackson testifies during his civil trial in Santa Maria Superior Court on December 3, 2002 in Santa Maria, California. The artist is being sued for $21 million by his longtime promoter for backing out of two concerts. (Photo by Jim Ruyman-Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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If you wanted to see just how polarizing a figure Michael Jackson is, look no further than two recent, high-profile projects covering the life and death of the famed musician. One is a recent hit movie, the other a popular but savaged documentary, setting a Rotten Tomatoes record for Netflix.<\/p>\n
The first project, of course, is Michael, the biopic about the singer, where Jackson is played by his real-life nephew, Jafar Jackson. The movie received poor reviews from critics, with a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score<\/a>, but an extremely high, possibly year-best, 97% audience score. That\u2019s helped the film go on to make $890 million so far this year, making it the second-highest-earning film of 2026 so far, just behind the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.<\/p>\n Now, Netflix\u2019s documentary series, Michael Jackson: The Verdict, has produced the opposite result. Unlike the film, the three-part documentary focuses on the molestation accusations and trial of Jackson, debating whether or not he was guilty with a number of interviews with experts and people involved.<\/p>\n The result is a solid 78% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, but a 7% from audiences<\/a>. Yes, that\u2019s a 7%, single digits. Jackson fans accuse <\/a>the documentary of being sensational and light on the facts, and as such, have tanked its score. As it stands, this appears to be the lowest-rated audience-scored documentary in Netflix history, below projects like Harry and Meghan (18%), Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser (45%) and Tiger King (57%).<\/p>\n The only project ranked lower is Queen Cleopatra, which became controversial over its casting of a Black actress as Cleopatra and ended up with a 3% audience score. But controversy alone doesn\u2019t explain the rating\u2014the series also received an 18% critic score. Unlike Michael Jackson: The Verdict and the other projects on this list, however, it was a scripted dramatization rather than a documentary-style production.<\/p>\n Well, despite this supposed audience hate, people are watching the Michael Jackson documentary. The show has been #1 on Netflix since its debut on June 3, now over a week ago, and it\u2019s holding off other big series like The Witness, which, in contrast, has a 100% critic score (a dramatic adaptation of a horrific UK crime).<\/p>\n How long Michael Jackson can stay there remains to be seen. A new Harlan Coben adaptation, I Will Find You, is out a week from now on June 18, and those have done extremely well on Netflix in the past. Then, it\u2019s the return of the anime adaptation, Avatar: The Last Airbender, on June 25. For now though, Michael remains on top, even if his fans are tearing up the film online.<\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>,<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n